Snow board

ABSTRACT

A snowboard ( 1 ), comprising a core ( 4 ) covered with an upper assembly ( 10 ), which comprises:
         a reinforcing layer ( 12 ) impregnated with a polymerized resin,   an upper protective layer ( 11 ) having a penetrating opening ( 20, 21 ),   and an additional decorative element ( 13 ) present inside said opening ( 2 ) extending under the upper protective layer ( 11 ) at the periphery of said opening,
 
characterized in that the additional decorative element ( 13 ) is formed of a layer of fibrous material, and in that it comprises a layer ( 14 ) of a polymer material forming a seal barrier between said additional element ( 13 ) and the resin of the reinforcing layer ( 12 ), said sealed layer ( 14 ) extending under the additional element and projecting beyond said element ( 13 ) to contact the underside ( 16 ) of the upper protective layer ( 11 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to the field of snow sports, and it relates more particularly to an improvement made to board structures, designed to permit the use of fibrous materials and in particular textiles, for making decorative elements for the upper layer.

PRIOR ART

In general, boards for snow sports, whether skis or snowboards, have an upper side that has a decoration which can be produced in various ways, but mainly by preparing designs, patterns or other inscriptions under the upper layer which forms the outer layer of the ski.

To further improve the quality and aesthetics of the boards, it has been proposed to integrate additional decorative elements on the upper side, generally made from a different material from the material of the upper protective layer. To avoid being exposed to the risk of mechanical pullout, and in particular by the edges, these additional elements are generally placed in such a way as to be flush with the top of the upper protective layer, without excessive projection.

For this purpose, an opening is generally made in the upper protective layer, in order to form a window through which the additional decorative element appears.

Document FR 2 823 126 describes a method for fabricating a snowboard in which the additional decorative elements are inserted into the upper protective layer in order to form zones of a particular polymer material, different from the polymer layer constituting the remainder of the protective layer.

These inserts may, for example, be made from a material having a soft feel facilitating the gripping of the board. More precisely, these additional elements are cut out to the exact shape of the window made in the upper protective layer. It is also known that in general, snowboards incorporate mechanical reinforcing layers which are based on a fibrous material impregnated with a thermosetting resin, thereby increasing the stiffness of the board. To avoid any leakage of resin in the interstices formed between the additional decorative element and the perimeter of the window formed in the upper layer, the aforesaid document proposes to insert a seal film under the window, preventing any seepage of resin.

It is an object of the invention to permit the use of additional decorative elements which are made from a fibrous material, and in particular textile. A further object of the invention is to permit the preparation of decorative patterns which vary widely, in shapes and in size, with said type of fibrous material.

In fact, the method described in the aforesaid document is inapplicable to the use of textile inserts.

This is because the texture and extensibility of the textile makes it impossible to make inserts of the textile materials which have exactly the same dimensions as the window made in the upper protective layer. The risks of fraying of a fabric would be high, particularly if the patterns required are small.

Other methods have also been proposed for integrating additional decorative elements of the upper protective layer. Thus, in document EP 0 615 773, the Applicant has described a method which consists in producing an upper assembly that comprises, superimposed, the upper protective layer and an underlying lower layer of a polymer material, of the ABS type.

The upper protective layer has one or more openings forming windows. During the molding operation, the pressures applied cause the distortion of the underlying layer of the upper assembly, which fills the window of the upper protective layer, while being blocked at the upper level by the mold cover. Said method is also inapplicable to the use of additional decorative elements based on fibrous materials and particularly textiles. This is because these materials have a porosity and a capillarity that makes them permeable to the resin that impregnates the reinforcing layers placed under the upper assembly.

A derivative method has been described in document EP 0 774 280, which describes the production of an upper assembly, for its subsequent placement in a mold for the fabrication of the board. This upper assembly comprises a top layer having windows inside which additional decorative elements based on transparent or translucent polymer materials are inserted. Said additional element is joined to the upper protective layer by a hot lamination, bonding or welding step. It is obvious that such a method is inapplicable or not transposable to the use of additional elements of a fibrous material and particularly textile. This is because the capillarity of such a material would inevitably cause the at least partial penetration of the fluid materials present nearby during the molding, and in particular the resin of the mechanical reinforcing layers, and to a lesser extent, the material of the upper protective layer during the preparation of the upper assembly.

It is therefore the object of the invention to permit the use of materials having a certain capillarity in order to integrate them as additional decorative elements in part of the upper assembly, despite the proximity of the resin-impregnated reinforcing layers having a natural tendency to migrate during the molding of operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention therefore relates to a snowboard that comprises a core covered by an upper assembly. Conventionally, said upper assembly comprises at least one reinforcing layer impregnated with a polymerized resin, and an upper protective layer forming the upper side, and which has a penetrating opening. The upper assembly also comprises an additional decorative element, which is present inside the opening made in the upper layer. Said additional element extends under the upper protective layer at the periphery of said opening.

According to the invention, the board is characterized in that the additional decorative element is formed of a layer of a fibrous material. Fibrous material mainly means textile materials, and in particular woven or knitted cloths, but also textile cloths based on nonwoven materials.

By extension, also covered are materials which have a certain capillarity, and particularly leather, cardboard, or similar synthetic materials.

According to the invention, the upper assembly also comprises a layer of a polymer material forming a seal barrier between the additional decorative element and the resin of the mechanical reinforcing layer. Said sealed layer extends under the additional decorative element and projects beyond it to contact the underside of the upper protective layer.

In other words, the invention consists in employing, as additional decorative element, layers of a material having a certain capillarity, and in preventing any migration of the fluid materials, and in particular of the reinforcing resin, during the injection operation, by protecting said additional fibrous element by the insertion of a sealed layer which isolates it from any infiltration of the fluid material.

The fibrous decorative material therefore preserves its appearance and its feel. A textile feel may in fact be particularly appreciable, not only for its aesthetic qualities, but also because it diminishes the feeling of cold on contact, due to the trapping of a layer of air between the textile fibers. Moreover, a textile based decoration is naturally less subject to scratching than a conventional polymer layer.

In practice, the principle of the invention can be implemented in various ways, and in particular by using one additional decorative element per opening made in the upper protective layer, or even by using an additional decorative element that is common to a plurality of penetrating openings. And in practice, these penetrating openings can produce patterns with complete freedom of shape, and in particular for producing alphabetical markings or very small patterns. It is also possible for the penetrating opening to extend to the edge of the board, in such a way that the additional textile element is present up to the edges of the board.

In practice, it may be advantageous for the additional decorative element to have a fraction of its perimeter that matches the contour of the penetrating opening. In other words, the additional element projects under the upper protective layer by a strip having a substantially constant width. This width can be defined to avoid any risk of pullout of textile materials.

Thus, related to the size of the pattern, the projection of the additional element is proportionally greater when the openings are smaller.

In practice, it is preferable for the additional decorative element to project from the perimeter of the penetrating opening by a distance larger than 5 mm, said distance depending on the size of the pattern and the type of textile material used, in particular its deformability.

Similarly, it is preferable for the sealed layer to project from the perimeter of the additional element by a distance larger than 5 mm, in order to guarantee the most complete possible seal and to prevent any penetration or migration of resin that would pollute the additional textile element.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The procedure for implementing the invention, and the advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the description of the embodiment that follows, in conjunction with the appended figures in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a board according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a rough perspective view showing the placement of the various elements for producing a board according to the invention.

MANNER OF IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a snowboard (1) conventionally includes a lower assembly comprising a base (2) bordered with edges (3). Upon said upper assembly rests a core (4) which can be obtained in various ways, either from a core fabricated in a prior operation, or by a core made during an injection operation.

In certain types of boards, said core (4) may be bordered by longitudinal reinforcing elements (5) constituting all or part of the edges of the board. However, the invention is in no case limited to this type of structure, but also covers conventional “sandwich” or “shell” structures.

The core (4) is covered with an upper assembly (10) which is composed in the form shown in FIG. 1 of an upper protective layer (1), a reinforcing layer (12) and according to the invention, a layer (13) forming an additional decorative element, associated with a seal layer (14).

Obviously, the upper assembly may also comprise other reinforcing or other elements, which have not been shown because they have no direct influence on the invention.

The upper protective layer (11) is conventionally made on the basis of a thermoplastic polymer material, and can receive on its underside (16) various layers of ink or varnish, not directly related to the present invention. In certain alternative embodiments, the upper protective layer can be made on the basis of sheets of various materials, such as sheets based on wood, particularly bamboo or similar, and in general, of any other plant. It may also consist of textiles different from those formed in the additional element, in terms of materials, color, or more generally, appearance.

Said upper protective layer (11) has penetrating openings. Said openings may be localized and have a closed contour when they are situated, like the opening (20) in the central part of the upper protective layer (11). These openings (21) may also extend to the border of the upper protective layer, so that they define a window which extends to the edge (5) of the board. These openings are made in a conventional manner by any punching, stamping or cutting operation.

The upper assembly (10) also comprises a fibrous reinforcing layer (12) which may be made in various ways, and in particular based on one or more layers of yarn, woven or not. This layer (12) is impregnated with a thermosetting resin, which, when completely cross-linked, confers high stiffness on the layer which contributes to the stiffness of the board.

Typically, the resins employed may be based on epoxy compounds or polyurethane.

According to the invention, the upper layer (11) also comprises a layer (13) forming the additional decorative element. This layer can be made as already described, by various types of material depending on the effect to be obtained. For example, mention can be made of woven cloths of the denim type, also optionally undergoing aging operations, and which has good resistance to scratching or impact of the edges, or even cloths having a larger thickness, of the knitted wool type in particular. This textile may also include various additional decorative elements, such as printed patterns or elements such as embroidery, stitching or similar. They may also include openwork textiles, such as lace or similar, insofar as the additional element is separated from the rest of the structure of the board by a sealed layer (14).

Thus, according to the invention, this layer (13) is coated on its underside with a sealed layer (14), which may typically be made from a film of the multilayer type to guarantee good tightness and adhesion to the adjacent layers. In order to prevent any migration of resin from the reinforcing layer (12) to the textile layer (13), this layer (14) projects beyond the perimeter of the textile layer (13) by a distance which is defined according to the viscosity of the resin employed, the molding temperatures, the porosity of the textile layer, and the operating conditions.

In practice, this distance e₂ may be a few millimeters.

Similarly, the textile layer (13) projects under the upper protective layer (11) by a distance e₁ beyond the borders (25) of the openings (20), to ensure a secure maintenance of the textile layer and to prevent its movement during use.

In practice, the patterns can be prepared by various methods. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, the method may be one in which the core has previously been prepared by assembly, machining or molding operations.

Thus, the core (4) is placed in a mold with the various components of the lower assembly. This core is covered with the reinforcing layer (12) pre-impregnated with a thermosetting resin. The part (14) intended to form the sealed layer is then placed on the reinforcing layer (12). The dimensions of this part (14), which are larger than those of the textile part (13) and the openings (27) allow its positioning with a certain tolerance.

The additional decorative element (13) is then placed on the sealed layer (14), leaving a peripheral strip (28) which is intended to contact the underside of the upper protective layer (11). This upper protective layer is then placed on the previously positioned elements so that the pattern (27) is centered with regard to the textile layer (13).

The mold cover is then closed and the application of a pressure causes, on the one hand, the cross-linking of the resin contained in the reinforcing layer (12) and the deformation of the various layers in such a way that the volume formed by the openings (20, 21) is filled by the textile layer (13). Said textile therefore preserves its original appearance on its visible side.

Other methods can be implemented in which the textile layer is joined to the upper protective layer, by prior assembly operations, to facilitate the handling of said upper assembly. Said assembly can be obtained for example using a sealed layer, or by specific bonding, stitching or similar. In the case of the stitching, the stitching yarn whereby the assembly is made can be used to create a decoration such as an embroidery, by passing continuously from the apparent zones of the textile layer of the additional element to the upper protective layer.

It is also possible to previously prepare the upper assembly integrating the textile layer for the assembly with a prefabricated core.

It appears from the above that the invention is suitable for producing snowboards which have localized patterns, made from a textile material and therefore having an attractive appearance and feel.

The invention serves in particular to use this type of material despite the nearby direct presence of fluid materials which could pollute it. 

1. A snowboard (1), comprising a core (4) covered with an upper assembly (10), which comprises: a reinforcing layer (12) impregnated with a polymerized resin, an upper protective layer (11) having a penetrating opening (20, 21), and an additional decorative element (13) present inside said opening (2) extending under the upper protective layer (11) at the periphery of said opening, characterized in that the additional decorative element (13) is formed of a layer of fibrous material, and in that it comprises a layer (14) of a polymer material forming a seal barrier between said additional element (13) and the resin of the reinforcing layer (12), said sealed layer (14) extending under the additional element and projecting beyond said element (13) to contact the underside (16) of the upper protective layer (11).
 2. The snowboard as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the additional decorative element (13) is made from textile material.
 3. The snowboard as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the additional decorative element (13) is a woven cloth.
 4. The snowboard as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the additional decorative element (13) is an openwork textile cloth.
 5. The snowboard as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the upper protective layer (11) has a plurality of penetrating openings (20, 21) under which an additional common decorative element (13) extends.
 6. The snowboard as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the penetrating opening (21) extends up to the edge of the board.
 7. The snowboard as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the additional decorative element (13) projects beyond the perimeter of the penetrating opening (20) by a distance e₁ larger than 5 mm.
 8. The snowboard as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the additional element (13) has a fraction of its perimeter which matches the contour of the penetrating opening.
 9. The snowboard as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the seal layer (14) projects beyond the perimeter of the additional element (13) by a distance e₂ larger than 5 mm. 